


there are no hospitals in the quantum abyss

by poor_sickies



Series: tumblr prompt fills [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Quantum Abyss (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 15:11:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16177664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poor_sickies/pseuds/poor_sickies
Summary: The title says it all. Keith and Krolia get to bond.





	there are no hospitals in the quantum abyss

It’s been almost half a year since they entered the Quantum Abyss.

Keith couldn’t exctly complain. It was a simple lifestyle, getting up at sunrise, hunt, go back to camp, sleep, rinse and repeat.

And then there were the space-time flashes.

He was used to it by now, but it was still jarring. Some memories hurt, and some snippets of the future were particularly disturbing.

Keith tried not to think too much about it.

Today was a little different though.

It was a thing when the space time figments happened and he was just sitting by the fire with his mother, or standing in a plain, safe, with something to hold on to, at least.

It was a completely different thing if they happened while he was climbing.

It was a short view into the past, Keith and his dad, on a walk through the desert, finding a small stream.

And when it ends, he’s falling, and then he’s crashing.

It hadn’t been a huge fall, perhaps just two or three meters, but his body weight hits the rocks right on his chest and elbow.

The wolf howls from up there, running in little circles, searching for a way to help.

“ _Fuck_.”

Keith tries to get up, but it’s a difficult task. It doesn’t take him too long to realize his elbow is broken, as well as a couple of ribs.

He manages to stand up, slightly curved, and holding his arm against his chest. Each step hurts, sharp twinges on his broken ribs, but he manages to find a way around to get back up. The wolf runs to him as soon as he’s able to, and licks his good hand, before standing expectantly.

“I’m okay buddy,” he rasps out, petting the wolf’s head, “we should try to head back.”

Fortunately, they weren’t too far away from camp, but it’s still a difficult path, and they take at least a couple of hours.

Keith feels a strange kind of relief washing over him when he sees the fire inside of the cave, Krolia sat on a rock, cooking something.

He’s limping when he arrives, and tries to resist the urge of throwing himself to the floor. The wolf runs inside, getting Krolia’s attention with a soft nudge on her hand. She turns around.

“Keith!” Her eyes widen at the state of him. She quickly runs to his side and helps him in, settling him in on his makeshift bed. “What the hell happened to you?!”

Keith leans back against the rocks, trying to take the strain of staying upright of his ribs, and shuts his eyes. The pain has gotten worse during the way back, and he just wants to rest. But Krolia insists.

“Hey, did you hit your head? You’re not falling asleep!” She shakes him awake, and he gasps, trying to shield his arm away from her.

“I didn’t hit my head!”

“Then what happened?”

“I fell on a ditch,” Keith explains, his voice cracking, “I think my arm is broken. A few ribs too.”

“Let me see.”

She begins to help Keith undress, and it takes a while. Every movement is hell on his body, and Krolia tries to be patient. Fortunately, it’s not too cold when she pulls down Keith’s marmora suit down to his waist, and takes a look at his bruised torso. It’s mostly red, and looks a little swollen, but some areas are already purplish.

“It’s either bruised or broken,” Krolia concludes, before taking Keith’s arm in her hands. The whole area around the elbow is swollen and almost unrecognizable. She presses down with her thumb, and Keith bites off a scream.

“I think your father had a similar injury once,” she says, frowning, fingers still ghosting over Keith’s skin, near the wrist where it was also swollen, “I might have to set it…”

Keith puts down his arm again, and curls a little in himself. “Do you think it will heal wrong?”

“It might,” she says, “we have to make sure the bone is straight.”

Keith frowns. “It’s not twisted or anything.”

“It is a little,” she gets up, “I’m gonna have to set it.”

Keith’s stomach drops.

It’s not the first time he has to set a bone, but all the other times were either done with some pain meds or right before going in a cryopod.

This is gonna hurt. A  _lot_. And he can’t escape it.

The wolf quickly realizes his distress, and sits beside him, while Krolia takes his hand back in hers again.

“Okay, I’ll pull slowly, to realign the bone. On the count of three,” she grabs tighter, “one-”

Keith screams this time. It’s a sickening crack, as the bones pop back into place. And it hurts so bad. As soon as Krolia lets him, he pulls his arm against his chest and curls himself into a ball. The wolf looks distressed now, and frantically licks Keith’s face and naked shoulder, desperately trying to comfort him.

When Keith finally lifts his head up, there’s tears streaming down his face. Krolia picks up some rolls of a weird plant’s leaves, similar to the ones of banana trees, but more flexible, and red, and starts unraveling, to use them as bandages.

She manages to set up a makeshift sling, effectively putting Keith’s arm at a ninety degree angle, and strapped to his chest.

Keith leans back in the rock and closes his eyes, trying to take his mind off the pain. The wolf lays down at his feet, his head resting on Keith’s leg.

Krolia stays too, at a distance, finishing dinner for them both. She glances at Keith every other moment, and wonders if she should be comforting him. She certainly wants to.

“Keith,” she says softly, and he opens his eyes, looking up at her and the cooked meat she held, “dinner is ready if you’re up to it.”

Keith shakes his head, grimacing. “Don’t really feel like eating.”

“Are you feeling sick?” Krolia asks, kneeling close to him. He nods.

“I think that’s usual after a fracture…”, she sighs, “is there anything I can do?”

“I don’t think so,” Keith mumbles, maneuvering himself with his good arm, and laying down, “I think I’m just gonna try and sleep.”

Krolia eats in silence after that. He wolf doesn’t sleep, instead just lays next to Keith, eyes half open, as if checking on him. Keith had managed to fall asleep, his good arm curled protectively around his ribs.

It’s dark, and the fire burns low a few hours later when Krolia wakes up. She had moved closer to Keith, just to be close if he needed her, and judging by the slight groan that just woke her up, maybe it had been a good idea.

“Keith?” She whispers quietly.

He doesn’t answer, but his breathing is even enough, Keith is awake.

“You’re awake.” She says.

“I’ll go back to sleep in a bit,” he says, and judging by his voice, Krolia is pretty sure he’s been awake for a while now.

“Do you need anything? Are you in pain?” She asks, unsure. She truly has no idea of what would help.

“I’m fine. Just gonna go back to sleep.”

When Krolia wakes up again, it’s a few hours later, still dark, and Keith just screamed.

“Keith!” She gets up and runs to his side. Keith is curled up in his stomach, holding his arm, and clearly struggling to breathe right. “What’s wrong? Is it hurting a lot?”

His eyes are squeezed shut, and he’s gritting his teeth. “I rolled over on my side…”

“Calm down, just breathe-”

“Breathing  _hurts_ ,” he says through clenched teeth, frustration taking over his tone. Krolia feels a pang of sympathy in her heart, even more when she sees tears rolling down his cheeks. She would do anything to trade places with him, to be her laid up suffering with broken bones. All she can do is watch her son in bed, writhing in pain, with no way to make it better.

Krolia wipes his tears with her thumb, wincing at each sob, and strokes his sweaty hair back.

It takes him a few minutes, but the pain dulls down a little, and his breath evens out.

“Do you think you’ll be able to go back to sleep?” Krolia asks.

“I think so,” he mumbles.

She isn’t sure how truthful he’s being. She goes back to her little bed, nonetheless, but moves it a bit closer.

The wolf sleeps beside Keith.

Sunrise hits her face, and Krolia feels it in her bones she did not have enough sleep.

Keith, at least, looks like he’s resting well enough. He still doesn’t look too comfortable, the same pinched look still in his features, but at least he’s sleeping.

Krolia gets up and does the routine checkup around the little cave, picking up any fruits they had deemed consumable. When she comes back, the wolf is waking up, and starts bumping Keith’s good hand with his head. It was affectionate and cute, and had become part of their morning routine. But maybe now wasn’t the best time.

“Let him sleep,” she whispers softly to the wolf, “he’s had a rough night.”

The animal looks like he understands, and with a short growl, moves away from Keith and sits next to the fire.

Keith wakes up a few hours later, smelling cooked meat. The wolf had curled up against him, and Keith reaches down with his good hand to pat his head.

His whole body protests in pain.

With a groan, Keith pushes himself to a sitting position, and sighs. Being like this with no painkillers or medical supplies whatsoever is really gonna suck. Wincing, he rolls his shoulder to adjust the sling, and he’s about to get up before Krolia’s stern voice stops him.

“ _Your have broken ribs, get back down_.”

Keith rolls his eyes, and gets up anyway, “I’ve had broken ribs many times, I can handle it.”

“Except now we’re on our own, in the middle of the Quantum Abyss, and there are no space hospitals around, so if you puncture a lung by moving around too much, I have no way to help you whatsoever,” Krolia explains, moving closer to him, as he walks to the fire.

“It’s not like I’m running around or anything-”

“I swear, if you try and sneak out before you’re fully healed, I’ll strap you to the bed. Now rest.” She points down to his bed.

Keith groans and lays back down. He’s tempted to shoot back with “you’re not my mom”, but that’s no longer an excuse. And Krolia sure sounds menacing when she wants to.

She brews him some tea, made from a blue plant they had deemed safe for consume a while ago. It’s a small comfort in his situation. The hot tea feels good, especially with how cold it got in the afternoon sometimes. It helps Keith back to sleep, along with Krolia’s fingers going through his hair soothingly.

And despite his pain, his discomfort, his injuries, there’s something oddly comforting about being laid up like this.


End file.
